Sound-box.



F. S. MUCKEY.

SOUND BOX.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 14,. 1914. RENLWED NOV. l1, 1916- Patented Aug. 14, 1917.

-The second. are undesirable sounds.

UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEIcE.

i FLOYD S. MUCKEY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR T0 MUCKEY PATENTS CORPORA- TION, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

. soUND-Box.

Application led July 14, 1914, Serial No. 851,000.

To all 'whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, FLOYD S. MUCKEY, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city, county, and State of New York, haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in Sound-Boxes, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates toimprovements in the art of recording, producing and reproducing sounds, and more particularly the recording, the production and reproduction of musical' tones. After a long and very careful study of many voices of singers and of the tones of musical instruments, obtained by photographic analyses, I have found lthat pleasing tones are obtained where there is a strong fundamental tone l and wherev the over tones are diminished in intensity. It is well known that some of the Iovertones are very harmonic, others are less harmonic 'and still others are strictly inharmonic. 4The sensations produced upon the ear by the sound production of any musical instrument consist of first, that series of partial tones which the particular vibrator originates, and second, sound other than the above mentioned prtial tonres. e relatively very high and strong partial tones are also classified as undesirable. If thel desired partial tones, especially the fundamental and lower overtones are amplified so as to subordinatethe undesirable sounds to such an extent that they are not noticeable, then a good tone quality is obtained. My efforts have been along this line, and the object of my present invention is to provide means for producing this good quality of tone by amplifying and strengthening the desired partial tones to their proper intensity through resonance, and suppressing or subordinating the undesirable sounds by removing the conditions which reinforce them. I have found that this can be accomplished if the sound box is shaped so as to provide a substantial resonance chamber in which the desiredpartial tones rare amplied, and if the walls are shaped toward the outlet so as to gradually merge and condense the sound waves asN they leave the outlet. A 'sound box constructed in accordance with myideas provides a substantiall resonating chamber, the walls of which gradually merge from an interiorly concave to a convex curve which Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 14, 1917.

Renewed November 11, 1916. Serial No. 130,917.

terminates preferably when the convex portion of the curve takes a direction in which its tangent is perpendicular tothe diaphragm. As generally constructed sound boxes, especially for phonographs, have some part of' the wall in such relation to the direction of sound waves through the sound box that most of the sound waves are reflected from the walls and directed back against .the outgoing sound waves and the diaphragm so as to interfere with them, and therefore with the production of the best quality and good volume of tone. Moreover, the usual form of sound box is constructed in such a manner as to reinforce the partial tones in such a way that their relative intensities are not in the correct proportion for good tone quality and the undesirable sounds are strongly reinforced so that good tone quality cannot be produced; but by constructing the sound box in accordance with my invention, the waves of the fundamental and lower overtones are amplified and reinforced in their proper relation to good quality, and the sound box is made so as to gradually deflect but not substantially reflect the sound waves. Thus the desired partial tones are reinforced to such an extent that the. substantially unreinforced undesirable sounds are relatively subordinated and repressed so that they are unnoticeable, and a strong volume of pleasing tone is produced. I have found with the use of the sound box shaped after my invention that the high pitched sounds ordinarily termed scratch, are much less noticeable and practically eliminated.

It is well known that the waves of the fundamentalV and lower overtones as they leave the unhampered vibrator, are much stronger than the waves of the higher harmonic or inharmonic overtones, and consequently if means are provided in a sound box for resonating and amplifyingand reinforcing these stronger sound waves, the

weaker sound waves above referred to will as a matter of course through lack of reinforcement, be suppressed and rendered unnoticeable. My experiments have also shown that where the sound box merges into a relatively long and small diameter tone arm, the desired 'effect of these sound waves is lost and a much less desirable tone is produced than where the sound box terminates when my compound curve which forms its wall takes a direction in which its tangent is perpendicular to thediaphragm; and if a horn is used at all, it should be used without the above described tone arm and 4should in its smallest diameter be larger than the outlet'of the sound box.

In order to secure the best resonance the condensation or merging of the air waves should occur contiguous to the outlet.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this speciiication, in which similar reference characters indicate correspondingl parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of a preferred form of the sound box without a horn.

Fig. 2 is a similar section of my improved sound box showing the same provided with a vibrator in the form of a diaphragm and connected With a horn. f

Fig. 3 is a cross section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4; is a side elevation of a slightly modified form of sound box which is polygonalfin cross section.

lFig. 5 is a broken end view showing the larger end of thel soundbox illustrated in Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a broken end view of the smaller end of the said sound box.

Fig. 7 is a side elevation of a sound box having a corrugated wall.

Fig. 8 is a broken end view taken from the larger end of the sound box shown in Fig. 9yis a broken end view ofthe smaller l end of the sound box shown in Fig. 7 and Fig. 10 is a broken longitudinal section of another slight modification of the sound box in which the box is circular in cross section but has a larger resonance cavity. l

The sound box 10 is relatively largeand long at one end and small and short at the other, andthe wall of the larger and the longer portion of the box is interiorly concave as shown at 11, this portion merging into a shorter convex portion 12, and the curve of the .latter terminates in a reduced neck portion 13 which ends preferably when.

the convex curve takes a direction which is perpendicular to the diaphragm. Any usual or preferred means can be used for producing sound in the sound box, and I have showna sound box provided at the larger end with a vibrator in the form ofa diaphragm 14, having a stylus 15, and the diaphragm and stylus can be of any usual or preferred type, or other means of producing the sound can be substituted. The neck vportion 13 of the sound box, if a horn is used, can discharge into a horn 16 without the intervention of a small diameter tone arm, as the use of Such a tone arm has proven injurious to the tone produced by my form of sound box.

ously be varied without affecting the principle of the invention. For instance, in Figs. 4 to 6 I have shown the sound box of polygonal cross section having faceted sides 17, and in Figs. 7 to 9 I have shown the wall of the sound box corrugated as at 18, thus forming internal flutes 18'I extending longitudinally of the sound box, forming additional resonance cavities.

In Fig. 10 I have shown the wall of the body portion of the sound boisomewhat elongated at the larger end as at 19, the extension 19 being substantially parallel with the horizontal axis of the sound box, thus forming the larger portion of the resonance cavity, but in every instance the defiecting or conducting portion of the sound box is in the form substantially of an interiorly concave convex curve as illustrated.

It will be understood that some of the high pitched tones while not inliarmonic, produce disagreeable tone quality if allowed to predominate, and in my improved form of sound box these tones are subordinates 100 through lack of reinforcement in their relation to the fundamental tone.

My experiments have shown that the particular shape shown in the drawings is of the utmost importance, and it will be no- 105 ticed by reference to such drawings that inlet end of the box, but the wall of the y sound box converges in the, form shown, so that all the sound waves are deflected toward the outlet, and merge or condenscfcontiguous to the outlet and only relatively few are iinally reflected back to the diaphragm.

I wish to call attention further to the fact that I have shown the application of my improved sound box to a phonograph, in which case it will be obvious that the sound box can be used either as a recorder or rcproducer as usual in such case, but I do not limit my invention to the use ofI a diaphragm, but claim it for any vibrator.

From the foregoing"description it will be seen that my invention is designed to carry out the functions of a correct sound box for the following reasons:

First, it provides a substantial resonance cavity with a restricted outlet for reinforcing the desired partial tones of any complex 130 quality and volume of tone.

Second, the wall of the sound box is of suchl shape as, vwhile providing a substantial resonance cavity to reinforce the desired partial tones, it delects the sound waves toward the outlet in sucha manner that only a small percentage of them return to the diaphragm to cause interference with volume and quality.

,'Third, the shape of the interior wall of the sound box is such as to condense the u sound waves in or contiguous to the outlet.

I claim 1. A sound box comprising a body and neck portion, the diameter of the former being much greater than the diameter of the latter, and the length of the former being much greater than the length of the latter, whereby the entrance portion of the neckA is re atively remote from the inlet of the body portion, said body and neck portions having a smooth, interiorly concave convex curvature, and terminating in the short restricted neck portion.

2. A sound box having a diaphragm and a part contiguous to the diaphragm forming a substantially long and llarge body portion of a resonance cavity, the interior wall of which merges in a smooth concave convex curve into the wall of a substantially short and small neck portion which ends in an outlet when the convex curve takes a direction in vwhich its tangent is perpendicular to the diaphragm.

3. A sound box having its body portion of a substantially large diameter and length with the wall of this body portion interiorly concavely curved in longitudinal section, and a neck portion of substantially small diameter and length with its wall interiorly convexly curved in longitudinal sectionythe said body and neck portions merging with each other, and the wall of the said neck portion ending in a reduced outlet when the convex curve takes a direction in which its tangent is perpendicular to the diaphragm.

4l. A sound box comprising a body and a neck portion, the diameter of the former be ing much greater than the diameter of the latter, and the length of the former being much greater than the length of the latter, whereby the entrance portion of the neck is .relatively remote from the inlet of the body portion, said body and neck portions having a smooth interiorly concave convex curvature and terminating in the short restricted neck portion, and with all parts of the wall neck portion of reduced diameter merging interiorly with the body portion in a smooth convex concave curve shaped to deflect sound waves toward the outlet, and with the wall of the neck portion ending when its convex curve takes a direction in which its tangent is-perpendicular to the diaphragm, and a horn connected directly with the outlet and with its smallest diameter larger than that of the said outlet. 6. A sound box comprising a body and neck portion, the diameter of the former being much greater than the diameter of the latter, and the length of the former being much greater than the length of the latter, whereby the entrance portion of the neck is relatively remote from the in let of the body portion, said body and neck portions having a smooth, interiorly concave convex curvature and terminating in the short restricted neck portion, the curve of the interior wall being such as to condense the sound waves contiguous to the outlet.

7. A sound box having a diaphragm and a part contiguous to the diaphragm forming a substantially long and large portion of a resonance cavity, the interior wall of which merges in a smooth concave convex-curve into the wall of a substantially short and small neck portion which ends in an outlet when the convex curve takes a direction in which its tangent is perpendicular to the diaphragm, the interior wall of the box extending from the inlet to the outlet in the form of a smooth concave convex curve of such curvature as to deflect the major portion of the sound Waves through the outlet.

8. A soundbox having a substantial resonance cavity, the inner wall of the box forming a concave convex curve which ends in a reduced outlet, the curve of the wall terminating when its tangent is perpendicular to the vibrator and these curves `being oi such curvature as to deflect substantially all the sound waves toward the outlet and to condense the same contiguous thereto, and a vibrator extending .across the inlet end of the box at substantially its largest diameter.

9. ln combination, a sound box having a diaphragm, a substantially long and large body portion and a substantially short and restricted neck portion, said portions having an interior concave convex curvature ending where the tangent to the convex curve is perpendicular to the diaphragm, and a horn having an inlet substantially larger than the outlet of the neck portion and directly connected thereto.

FLOYD s. MUCKEY. 

